


I'll Forget the Rules I've Known

by shermanerm



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Fuck Greg Grimaldis, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Multi, Playing Fast and Loose with Selkie Mythology, Rated for cursing, Selkies, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-03-31 03:56:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13966818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shermanerm/pseuds/shermanerm
Summary: “The problem is, you have to, to hide the skin. Take it home, put it in a closet, she’ll find it. You have to put it somewhere she’s not gonna look, or can’t get to. ‘Cause they go crazy, is the thing, the go like… sea crazy. They say they need to be in the ocean, even though you both know they don’t. So you have to hide the skin. Hide the skin, Barry.”





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the Adventure Zone Fanfiction Writers discord, who made me so hype i actually wanted to publish something.
> 
> The title is from Sea Calls Me Home by Julia Holter. Conveniently, I happen to have the song on this selkie-themed playlist [ right here!](https://open.spotify.com/user/226rbowbe5w3fzyufl6nstpsi/playlist/4aSOdfAQsItJ2n1TnYlL8b)

Barry glanced up from his monitor in time to catch the glassy gaze of his coworker.

The man (Jerry? Garyl?) stared back at Barry, the scent of whiskey heavy in the air around him. “Have you ev’r heard of the selkie?” His voice slurred a little as he slumped further into his seat.

Barry looked at his coworker for a moment, taken aback. “No, I - are you drunk?” He looked around, forgetting for a moment he was in his own office. No one to help, then. He leaned in, despite the overwhelming scent of alcohol on the other man. “You realize you’re on the clock, right?”

The man (Greg? Barry thought it might be Greg) shook his head lazily. “Hear me out. So there’s legends of these things called _selkies_ , right? They’re women trapped in seal bodies, and they’re able to take off their skin and go on land once a year. That’s the legend. They say that if you hold on to the skin for them, they can stay in their human forms for longer, and then you can, can, break their curse.” Greg ran his hand through his unkempt hair and leaned to the side. Barry looked down at his work, then back up at Greg.

Greg continued unheeded, still leaning to the right. “The problem is, you have to, to hide the skin. Take it home, put it in a closet, she’ll find it. You have to put it somewhere she’s not gonna look, or can’t get to. ‘Cause they go _crazy_ , is the thing, the go like… sea crazy. They say they need to be in the ocean, even though you both know they don’t. So you have to hide the skin. Hide the skin, Barry.”

Barry looked at the man for another moment, waiting for him to speak. When nothing else came out, Barry finally said, “Look, we’re at work, you’re obviously not going to be getting anything done today, you need to go home. Tell the boss you have food poisoning or something.” Even as he said this, he watched Greg warily, like he was dangerous. Which he wasn’t, of course. Just drunk.

Greg nodded and sat up straight. “Yeah, okay, you’re right.” He stood up, his chair making a fair amount of noise on the cheap laminate floor, and somewhat steadily walked away from Barry’s desk.

As the door closed behind Greg, Barry sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“Fuck.”

* * *

After the awkward first day, Greg (Gregory A. Grimaldis, as the small copper-plated placard next to their shared door stated) took the occasional sip from his flask, but did not drink to excess. Barry was amicable, but did not speak to him more than workplace propriety required. Greg came in a few minutes late some days, or would leave a few minutes early, but he wasn’t the worst person Barry had ever shared office space with. Barry still shuddered to think of Jenkins, who’s terrible work ethic was only matched by his terrible attitude.  
Barry was totally fine with the minimal contact he had had with Gregory A. Grimaldis.

Which was why he really didn’t understand the dinner invitation.

“He asked you to _dinner?!”_ Lucretia crowed over the phone, as Barry thought about his options. He didn’t want to go too formal and stand out, but he definitely did not want to show up looking like a slob to a possible business dinner.

“He invited me to talk about a possible business project at his house, with his _wife_ , Lucretia.” Barry looked down at his clothing, and after a very brief moment of deliberation, changed his work slacks for his second-favorite jeans. He nodded to himself, and tuned back into his friend’s voice, made tinny from the speakerphone.

“...n’t just agree with him because you’re uncomfortable in his home. You are a professional, and your insight matters just as much as his does.”

Barry smiled, even though he knew Lucretia couldn’t see it. “Thank you, Luce. I appreciate the pep talks.” He looked at his watch, and cursed softly at the time. “I have to go now, otherwise I might be late. I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

Lucretia sighed through the phone. “Yeah, come over tomorrow. Bye, Barry.”

Barry heard the click of the call ending, and he headed for the door.

* * *

Greg Grimaldis’ house was not overtly luxurious, but Barry could tell he came from money. It was the third-nicest house on the street, and the car in the driveway was new.

The woman who answered the door was possibly the most beautiful being Barry had ever seen in his life. She smiled at him blandly, and said “I’m assuming you’re Sildar? Come on in, Greg’s just finishing up.” Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked down the foyer.

Barry followed her inside in a daze, only shaking himself out of it when he saw Greg through the pass-through, reaching for whatever was in the oven.

“Hey, Barry,” Greg said as he walked through the open kitchen door, casserole in hand. “I hope you like cheesy chicken casserole!”

* * *

Barry unlocked the door with his free hand and let himself in, grocery bags smacking against the door jamb. Wincing, Barry quickly walked over to the kitchen counter, setting the bags down and checking the eggs. None broken, thank god.

“Are you okay, Barry?”

Barry jumped, and turned around quickly. Lucretia sat in the middle of the couch, a nest of blankets surrounding her. Her laptop whirred away on it’s tray as Warehouse 13 played, muted, on the TV.

“Uh, y-yeah, Luce, I’m fine, how are you?” At Barry’s stutter, Lucretia’s eyes narrowed. He winced, and said nothing. Maybe she wouldn’t say anything. Maybe-

“The dinner fucked you up the much, huh?” Barry brought his eyes back up to Lucretia, who shrugged. “You’re not usually this anxious on the weekend, unless something really stressed you out. So, what happened?” She moved her head to the uncovered corner of couch. “Come on, sit down.”

Barry shuffled over and slumped into the cushions. “I don’t know, the dinner was… fine? No one else came, which means he probably did invite just me, which is weird, but it was fine. After dinner, his wife went to feed the baby, and Greg asked if I wanted a coffee before I headed out, and then we sat in the living room and talked, and he started telling me about selkies again, and then-”

“Woah, woah,” Lucretia interrupted, hands out. “Again? So he’s cornered you like this before?”

“Well, I mean, yeah. Did I not tell you before? It was the first day we started working together. He was drunk and he started talking about seal people. Got the myths all wrong, too.” Barry looked down at his empty hands. “There’s something, else, Luce. I… I met his wife.”

Lucretia’s eyes narrowed further. “Bartholomew, don’t tell me you-”

Barry cut her off. “If what you were about to say is ‘flirted with his wife’, of course not, what the fuck.” Barry sighed. “She seemed… off. Really vacant, like she wasn’t even there. I don’t know, it just doesn’t sit right with me.”

There was silence, for a moment, as Lucretia processed the information. “Barry, what are you implying? Are you saying that she’s a robot, or something?” She chuckled, shaking her head with good humor.

“No, Lucretia, listen. What if... what if Greg had a reason to be telling me all of this? What if he actually found a selkie? _What if he married her?_ _”_

Lucretia stared at Barry for a long moment. “You think - and correct me if I’m wrong - that your coworker stole a magic seal skin and forced some poor girl to marry him. Through magic.”

Barry shifted in his corner of the couch. “Well… yeah?”

“And now he’s, what, going crazy because he can’t tell anyone about it, so he’s confiding in you?”

“Well, it sounds crazy when you put it like that.”

Lucretia heaved a sigh, and pulled her laptop stand from the blanket pile and into her lap. “I can’t believe I am considering ‘magical seal person’ as an option right now.” She logged back in, and opened several tabs in quick succession. “I’m only doing this because you have a terrible propensity to be right on the weirdest subjects, so.”

Barry grinned at her. “Research party?”

Lucretia nodded, already immersed in whatever thread she was reading. “Research party.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _im so glad i actually continued this, oh my god_  
>  Thanks again to FaiaHae, and thank you to Graystar 19 and my roommate Cait for saving my life

Barry tugged at his hair in frustration, then finally sighed and set his phone aside. He glanced at Lucretia, who’s head was resting on the back of the couch, eyes closed. “Have you found anything?” Lucretia lolled her head to look at Barry, fatigue making her blink slowly. “Luce, go to bed, you’re falling asleep again.”

“Nooo,” Lucretia whined as she picked her head back up. “I’m awake, Barry, I pr’mise.” She squinted at her laptop screen, confusion covering her face as she tried to find her place to continue reading.

“Nope, come on,” Barry said, standing slowly and reaching out to grab Lucretia’s laptop stand and set it on the table. He held out her cane, and she heaved herself up off the couch. Silently, they made their way to Lucretia’s bedroom, where Barry helped turn down the blankets and pulled them up after Lucretia climbed in.

“Goodnight, love you,” mumbled Lucretia, before she curled up and started snoring.

Walking back out to the living room, Barry started cleaning off the coffee table, grabbing plates and forks. Standing up from his crouch, Barry caught sight of a dark figure off to the side of the room, in the shadows next to the TV. Barry froze, plates clutched to his chest.

The man spoke, his cockney accent ringing out through the quiet of the living room. “Have you found her?” He stepped forward into the moonlight, his semi corporeal oxfords looking out of place on top of Lucretia’s green rag rug. “Did you find the selkie?”

“Oh my god, I’m going fucking insane,” Barry said, distantly.

“You’re not- you’re not going insane, it’s-” The man huffed and shook his head, then spoke again, softer. “I’m sorry about that. My name is Kravitz. I see you’ve been researching about selkies, and poking around on certain forums. Have you… found a selkie, somewhere?” Kravitz’s face went a bit chagrined. “Or are you just  _ really _ into Celtic mythology?”

Barry looked at Kravitz. There was a good chance that he was actually just crazy and talking to the wall, but. “Tell me something I don’t know,”

Kravitz blinked at him, then shrugged. “Ok, the time is 10:48 pm, and you have mustard on your shirt.” Barry looked down at his shirt, and then checked his watch. Huh. Both correct.

“Cool, you’re not a figment of my imagination.” Barry narrowed his eyes at the ghost in his best friend’s living room. “Earlier you said ‘the’ selkie. You said ‘her’. Who are you looking for?” After a moment of silence, Barry jerked his head to the kitchenette. “Come on, I have to clean up, and I’m not going to yell across the room to talk to you, my friend is sleeping.” He stepped into the kitchenette, and the ethereal man followed, phasing through the counter to stand by the fridge behind Barry.

Barry set the dishes in the sink, took a bracing breath, and turned to face the ghost. “Okay, hello, my name’s Barry, who are you looking for?”

Kravitz paused for a long moment. “I’m looking for a woman named Lup, who disappeared nine years ago.” In the ambient light coming in from the window, Kravitz looked distraught. “She’s in her early twenties, hazel eyes, long nose.”

Barry nodded, shifting to lean against the counter. Sure, having an ally who could phase through walls would definitely help find out if this was the real deal, but if this man was also going to hurt Lup, Barry wouldn’t want him to ever find her. “Why do you want to find her?”

Kravitz glared at Barry, and despite the fact the the man in front of him could not physically harm him, a tingle of fear ran up Barry’s spine. “You’ve heard of the myths, you know what happens to selkies when their skins are taken. We’re  _ trying to save her _ .”

Barry considered this. “Okay. Okay, I’ll tell you what I know.”

* * *

 

Kravitz left, after getting Barry’s number and promising to call soon. “Soon” was apparently fifty minutes later, as Barry found out when he blearily looked at the caller ID. Fumbling to get out of his own, warm, comfortable bed, Barry grabbed the phone from the dock and answered. “Hello?” His voice was quiet and gravelly from sleep, but apparently the person heard him well enough.

“Hey, yeah, is this Barry?” The voice on the other end of the phone sounded like Lup’s, so Barry assumed this must be the brother.

“Yeah, hi, this is Barry.”

“Awesome, awesome, where the  _ fuck _ is my sister?” The man’s voice grated through the phone, and Barry winced as he pulled it away from his ear slightly. “Where is her physical goddamn location, Barold?”

“Uh, it’s um. 445 Kerrigan Avenue, Neverwinter? I uh, I’ve been trying to figure out where the skin is, you need that to kind of, um, break the curse, or whatever, right?”

On the other end of the phone, the man scoffed. “Yes, I need her fucking skin, Barold, but I’d rather we get her back first, Jesus.”

“My name’s not-” Barry’s heachache was getting worse. “Okay, what if he does something to her skin?” Silence rang through the phone, and Barry continued, faster now. “Like, you take her, he fucking burns her skin, what happens?” Barry didn’t know the answer, but he knew something bad would come out of being hasty about this.

“So, what, are you saying I leave her there? Cause plot twist, that’s not an option!”

“No, of course not, just. Help me find the skin. Get the ghost guy to scope out the house, I can check the office, someone check his car, things like that.” Barry ran a hand through his hair and sighed, sitting back down on his bed.

The man snorted. “Not a ghost, my dude. Astral projection.” There was a pause, then the man spoke again, a little softer. “You’re- you’re right. I hate it, but you’re right.”

Barry rubbed at his temples to try to stave off the growing headache. “So how are we gonna do this?  _ When _ are we gonna do this?”

“Tomorrow, duh. Figure out a way to get the dick out of the office, and look for the skin. Text Kravitz when he’s there, so we know when to search the house.”

After a few more details and confirmations, the man hung up. Barry put his phone back in his dock, and laid back down, and didn’t sleep for a long while.

* * *

 

The next day was bright, and hot, and Greg was nowhere to be seen.

According to Paloma the receptionist, Greg had called in sick with a stomach flu, and wouldn’t be coming in for at least two days. Despondent, Barry thanked her and walked back down the hall.

Shooting off a text to Kravitz, Barry quickly checked Greg’s desk. Nothing, except for the bottom right drawer, where a false bottom hid Greg’s flask and 3 wrinkled five-dollar bills.

Barry sat down at his own desk. The office was a dead end. They were going to have to wait at least two more days to save Lup, but Barry felt nauseous at the idea of leaving her there, blank eyed and agreeable, for even a minute longer. He didn’t know what was worse, the idea that they had to wait so long, or the thought of going to get her anyway and giving Greg a reason to hurt her, or the baby.

As Barry glared at Greg’s desk, his eyes drifted to the side. In the corner of the office, next to the plastic ficus, was a three-drawer filing cabinet. The top two drawers had his and Greg’s files, so that wouldn’t-

There was something sticking out of the bottom drawer.

Hesitantly, like he was approaching an active bomb, Barry walked over. With a faintly trembling hand, he pulled the bottom handle. It was locked. Barry could fix that.

“Istus forgive me,” Barry whispered. Running back to his desk, her grabbed a paperclip, and set to unlocking the cabinet.

After a minute of struggling, the drawer unlocked and gently popped open. Barry took a bracing breath and looked inside.

Inside the drawer was a speckled seal skin, folded gently and wrapped in a sheet.

“Fuck.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At all of yall who doubted my boy Barry - that's very fair, and I left the chapter at that point on purpose.
> 
> Also, happy april fools day, the real fool is me

Barry lifted the selkie skin gently, trying to handle it as little as possible. He mostly grabbed the sheet around it as he lifted it out of the filing cabinet. He wrapped it up as well as he could on the floor, putting it into an extra bag from the bottom of his wastebasket. He pushed the drawer shut, and lamented that he couldn't lock it.  
  
With his newly free hands, Barry grabbed the bundle and put it in an empty file box, and looked at the clock. 4:30 pm. He couldn’t handle staying here for another half hour when he could be doing something. Barry grabbed the file box, took a bracing breath and walked out the door. “Hey, Paloma,” he said, trying for a mix of casual and pained. “I’m not feeling too good right now. I’m gonna head out early, in case it’s contagious, but I’ll take some files with me so I can at least do something at my house. Hopefully this blows over, but you never know.” He let the stress show on his face, hoping he looked as ashen as he felt.   
  
“Oh, yeah, Barry, take care of yourself!” Paloma gently smiled at him, and Barry quirked his lips back. One, two, three more steps and he was out the door, breathing like he’d just run a marathon. Barry forced himself to walk to his car at a normal pace, unlocking the driver’s side door shakily and almost collapsing inside. He let himself sit and take a moment. Slowly, he put the box onto the passenger seat. He took a deep breath. He called Kravitz, and waited for the weird british “Hello?” before he spoke.   
  
“I found it.”   
  
“You _found it?”_ Kravitz said, and Barry nodded even though they couldn’t see him.   
  
“Yeah, it was in the office this whole time.”   
  
“Oh my God, Taako, get over here, Barry found it!” There was a commotion through the phone, then Taako’s voice “where the fuck _is he, Krav”_ before Barry spoke again.   
  
“What do we do now?” The phone went silent as the three men considered their options. “I personally think the point from before still stands. We may have the advantage of the skin, but Lup’s still in his house. The baby is still in his house. I don’t… we need to have a game plan.”   
  
“Ok, game plan: we go in, beat the shit out of Greg for doing this to my sister, and take her and the baby and run.” Taako’s voice was resolute, and Barry could hear Kravitz murmuring something, but it was too low to understand.   
  
Barry grabbed his keys, ready to go. “Yes, totally. When and where do I meet you guys?”   
  
There was a quick pause, before Taako said “Uh, are you sure you want to? You’ll have to work with this guy after, you probably don’t want to be seen stealing his wife.”   
  
Barry shook his head, then remembered they couldn’t see it. “No, I’m in this. You guys need help, and I know at least most of what’s going on. Let me help. Please.”   
  
Another beat of silence, and then all at once, “Fuck it, fine, you’re part of the goddamn extraction team, Barold. Meet us at the fountain in half an hour.”   
  
The call ended, and Barry sighed, falling forward and letting his head hit the steering wheel.   
  
“Okay. Extraction team. I can do that.”   
  
Barry sat up and put the keys in the ignition. With a final moment to breathe, he pulled out of the parking lot, unaware of the eyes watching him through the vented blinds.

* * *

 

Barry waited at the fountain, looking at the cherry blossom trees just beginning to bloom. If it weren’t for how cloudy and wet it was, the park would be picturesque. As it was, it was a pretty quiet day, so Barry kept watch for Taako and Kravitz entering the park.  
  
“Boo!”   
  
Barry jumped, turning around to face the voice behind him. For a second, he thought he was looking at Lup in some sort of disguise, until he noticed the grown out blonde hair. This was Taako.   
  
He wore a blue wave-pattern t shirt, and a gauzy-lightweight green skirt over ripped stockings. His platform boots matched his oversized leather jacket. He was the most bizarrely-dressed person Barry had ever seen. Barry was a little bit into it.   
  
“Hey, homie, are you done checking me out, or should I give you another minute?” Barry’s eyes went to Taako’s face as his cheeks heated, and Taako quirked a smirk in response.   
  
“Not that I blame you on being a little star-struck. I mean, I am _Taako,_ y’know, from _TV?”_   
  
Kravitz stepped around the corner, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “Taako, I love you, but you were on local television, once. That doesn’t make it part of your brand.” He turned to Barry. “Hi, yes, sorry we’re late. We can head out now.”   
  
“I thought you were british?” Barry blurted out, before he thought better of it.   
  
Kravitz froze, eyes going wide, and Taako whirled around to face him. “Called the fuck out, my dude!” Then a beat passed, and Taako’s eyes widened, too. “Wait, you. You love me?”   
  
Kravitz breathed in quickly, eyes shifting around. “Um, now’s not the time to talk about this, we need to get Lup. Let’s go?”   
  
Taako nodded, still a little awestruck. He turned to Barry, who was watching them like they were a particularly interesting show. “You got a car? You driving over be less conspicuous than us, considering.”   
  
Barry blinked himself out of his fog. “Yeah, I, uh, I parked over on the other side of the Archway.”   
  
They walked down the path to the parking lot, a bit more subdued when reminded of ‘the mission’. Suddenly, Barry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He quickly examined the park for anyone else, but couldn’t see anyone in the lengthening shadows of the trees. When he looked forward on the path again, he noticed a little Brewer’s Blackbird in the tree a few yards ahead. For the briefest moment, he felt like he locked eyes with the bird, until it ruffled its iridescent feathers and flew off.   
  
The car ride was short and quiet, with Kravitz and Taako not speaking in the back seat. By the time they pulled onto Kerrigan Avenue, Barry was a little desperate to get out of the car.   
  
He forgot about that, though, when he saw Greg’s house, up in flames. The fire department was there, trying to put it out, but the entire house was engulfed. Greg’s car was in the driveway, oh God, _they had been home-_   
  
Barry pulled over in front of a neighbor’s house and they sat sat, silent and somber.   
  
A small tapping alerted Barry to the man standing outside his window. He jumped, and quickly rolled it down, looking up at the large, hirsute man.   
  
“Uh, which one of you guys is Taako?” The man leaned down so he could see into the back of the car, where Taako silently raised his hand.   
  
“Ah, okay, makes sense. Yeah, I have a uh, message for you. From your sister.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to TaraHarkon for the beta read! this chapter is almost twice as long, whoops

As it turned out, the man had a bit more to say than just a message. Barry drove to a nearby IHOP, the man following behind in his car. Once at a booth in the starkly-lit restaurant, the man raised a hand and waved awkwardly.

“Hi, My name’s uh, Errol Ryehouse, and I’m the leader of the Dry River Neighborhood Watch.” The man looked down at the menu and took a deep breath. “I’ve been trying to get your sister out of Mr. Grimaldis’s house for about 7 months, now.”

Taako leaned back in the booth, trying to look casual despite his wary eyes on the imposing man across from him. “Why?”

Errol’s brow furrowed, as he looked at all three of them. “Well, she was showing textbook symptoms of emotional abuse and possible physical abuse. I wouldn’t be able to look at myself if I didn’t try to at least help her situation. I work at a domestic violence shelter, I see women with the look in their eyes that Lup has every day.” Errol paused, glancing at Barry, then locking eyes with Taako. “Then, I realized that your sister isn’t, well. Isn’t very human.”

Taako’s shoulders tensed, and his face went carefully blank. “I have no idea what you mean, Eric. We’re all normal people here.” Next to Taako, Kravitz shifted, more at attention. Barry did the same, feeling uncomfortable at this miniature stand-off. He felt like there should’ve been a tumbleweed blowing across the table.

Errol held his hands up, shaking his head. “No, no, I’m sorry, I’m definitely not going to say anything! I, uh, I’m in the same boat, kind of.” He raised a hand, like he was about to whisper something, but instead cupped it around his eye, and then-

Then his eyes flashed, a strange gold over what used to be warm brown. At the same time that he flashed his eyes, Errol’s ear transformed slightly, becoming more pointed. Errol blinked in surprise and clapped a hand over his ear, smiling at them sheepishly. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to do that.”

Barry looked at him, bewilderment written across his face. “Yeah, no, that makes sense. Definitely.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Taako lean forward, resting his elbows on the vaguely sticky table.

“Wait a second, are you that werewolf that was stuck in the half shift for so long?” Taako’s head tilted, like in that moment Errol had become a particularly interesting puzzle. “I heard about some dude that tried to run for Mayor, but someone cursed him. Was that you?”

Errol’s face went red, and he scrunched back into the cracked yellow pleather of the booth seat, obviously uncomfortable. “I, uh, yeah, that was me, I don’t really like to talk about it, anyway, long story short, I helped your sister escape tonight.”

At this point, Kravitz piped up. “About that. What was the message you have for Taako?”

Errol nodded, regaining some of his composure. Sitting up straight again, he said “She’s headed to the coast, where your aunt used to bring you to shore. She has the baby. Her skin is probably at Greg’s office. Don’t kill anyone.”

Taako brought his hands up and put his face in them. “Fuck.”

* * *

 

They walked out of the IHOP a short time later, after exchanging phone numbers with Errol. Night had completely fallen, and the air was unseasonably cold. Barry shivered, wishing he had thought to bring a jacket with him to work. “So, uh, why is it so bad that Lup went back to your aunt’s place?”

Taako shook his head. “It’s not- It’s just-” He sighed, leaning against the side of the car, as Barry unlocked it. “It’s not that it’s a bad idea, it’s just that it’s really fucking far, and she could have easily stayed with Aaron, or whatever the fuck his name was, and waited for me to get there. Instead, she decides to go all Judith Neelley on it and set the fucking house on fire as she runs.  _ Fuck.” _ Taako jerked up from the car and walked away a few steps, breathing heavily. After he calmed down, he looked at the sleeve of his jacket, now a little grimy. “My dude, wash your car.”

Kravitz yawned, suddenly and loudly, and Taako chuckled. “You need to sleep, huh, babe? We can head back to the motel, if you want, let you catch some shut-eye.” He walked over to to Kravitz, who was shaking his head, eyes scrunched closed.

“No, no, I’m fine. We can head out now. If we go fast enough, we can probably find her before she hits the coast.” As Kravitz spoke, he swayed on his feet, obviously exhausted.

“Well, I can, uh, I can still drive for a while, if you guys wanted to start heading out? I’m full on gas and I have an excuse to miss a few days of work.” Barry shrugged, keys in his hand and ready to go. “We can stop by your motel room and pick up your stuff on the way.”

Taako looked at him with an unreadable expression, gently holding on to Kravitz’s wrist. In the ambient light coming from the windows of the IHOP, his face was thrown into odd shadow. He looked, for a moment, like an ethereal, inhuman creature, ready to bless him or curse him. Then he shifted, leaning onto the side of the car again, and the moment passed. “I mean, if you’re still cool with Operation Umbrella, We’re down. Kravitz can sleep anywhere, including a speeding car, so.”

“I’m not going to be- Operation Umbrella?” Barry blinked, thought for a second, and decided not to pursue it. “Yes, I’m cool with Operation Umbrella.”

“Awesome, cool.” Taako nodded, than paused for a moment. “Can we get in the car now? It’s cold out here and I’m not wearing pants.”

“Oh, sorry.” Barry fumbled with the keys he had ready in his hand, finally hitting the unlock button. On the other side of the car, Taako sniggered.

* * *

 

Forty-five minutes later, they were on the highway, Kravitz snoring gently in the back seat. Taako was in the passenger seat this time, boots up on the dust-covered dashboard and scrolling through something on his phone. After a few moments of this, he sighed and dropped the phone in his lap. He turned to look at Barry, eyes serious. “So, do you have a crush on my sister, Barold?”

Barry thought about it. “I don’t think I’ve known your sister long enough to form that sort of idea. I’ve never known her with her skin, and considering the fog she was in when I saw her, I can imagine that she’s probably pretty different with it.”

Taako didn’t say anything, continuing to look at Barry.

“If you’re asking if I think she’s attractive, yes, I do. Would I do  _ anything _ without her explicit and enthusiastic consent? No, I wouldn’t.”

“And you know she’s probably never going to want to  _ talk to _ a human man again, let alone be with one romantically.” Taako was very insistent, hand on his armrest to stabilize him. The way his body was contorted couldn’t have been comfortable.

“Yeah, I know.” Barry stopped glancing at Taako, who after a moment leaned back into the passenger seat.

“...good. I’d hate to have to kill you.” Taako slouched more into his seat and turned the radio on, but kept it at a low volume.

Barry continued driving as the opening strains of a song trickled through the car speakers. He felt like it was a message. A good one.

* * *

 

After driving for a few hours, they stopped at a roadside gas station for a break. Kravitz stumbled out of the car, bleary eyed and hungry, with Taako trailing behind him as they went into the Qwik Stop. Barry walked to the connected bathrooms, pleasantly surprised to find the inside clean. He splashed his face with cold water a few times, then took a moment to think about what he was doing.

In the process of a few weeks, his life had turned completely upside down. He was currently on a rescue mission-turned road trip with two almost strangers, looking for a magical seal-woman running away from her captor of almost ten years. Jesus.

Barry examined himself in the mirror, focusing on the dark circles under his eyes, the lines on his forehead. The little lines of white interspersed through his hair and stubble.

“Fuck, I’m getting old,” he mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face.

As he stepped away from the mirror, his pocket rang out with “PLAY THAT FUNKY MUSIC, WHITE BOY. PLAY THAT FUNKY MUS-” Barry yelped, fumbling to get his phone out of of it’s denime prison, succeeding in dropping it directly onto the grimy tile floor.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Barry mumbled as he finally picked it up and hit answer. “Hello?”

“Hey, are you at your house? I was wondering if you wanted to do another research party, I can buy dominos so you don’t have to cook.” Lucretia’s voice froze Barry in his tracks, his hand loosening and almost dropping the phone again. He hadn’t told Luce.  _ Fuck. _

“Wait, Barry, why did you say fuck, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Barry scrunched his eyes closed, and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the fallout.

“Luce, I’m not really… in town, right now.”

A few beats of silence passed. “Barry fucking Hallwinter, where are you.”

Eyes still closed, Barry winced. “I’m on my way to the coast, right now. Not sure which town, Taako’s just gonna tell me which off-ramp to get off at. I think he’s trying to remember where to go, to be honest.”

Lucretia sighed. “Who’s Taako?”

Barry stepped out of the bathroom into the night, noticing that Taako and Kravitz hadn’t made it back into the car yet. “He’s Lup’s brother. He contacted me a few weeks ago, because he knew we had been looking up a bunch of information on selkies. I found her skin in the office today, and we were going to pick her up, but when we got to her house…”

“Oh, god,” Lucretia mumbled. “Is that the house on Kerrigan Avenue?”

“So it’s on the news?” Barry leaned against the side of the car, grimacing as his shirt got a film of grim on the sleeve. He really did need to wash his car. “We got there when the house was already burning.”

“The news is calling it a homicide. Are you entirely sure you can trust these people?” Lucretia’s voice held a large amount of worry, but underneath that she just sounded drained. “I don’t want you hurt, Barry.”

Barry shifted, leaning his back against the driver’s side door. “I don’t- I-” He leaned his head back, staring up at the stars ad he formulated his thoughts. “I don’t know how to explain it. I just, I trust them.”

There was a long pause, long enough that Barry had to check to see if she was still there. The phone said the call was still connected, so he just waited.

Finally, Lucretia spoke. “I’m… really angry with the fact that you brought me in on the research, then the moment something changed, you dropped me. You didn’t tell me anything about this, Barry, and if I hadn’t called just now, you wouldn’t have told me at all.”

Barry opened his mouth to refute that, but Lucretia continued, heedless of it. “We need to have a long talk about what friendship means, because what you did isn’t it.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Lucretia sniffed like she was crying, and Barry felt his soul drift down into hell where it belonged. He hadn’t seen her cry since Cam had died, and to be the cause of her tears honestly just fucked him up.

“But I know that my feelings aren’t what’s most important right now. I need to make sure you stay okay, Barry. I can’t yell at your gravestone, it’ll make me look bad.”

Barry laughed wetly, and Lucretia made a comforting noise through the phone. “I love you, you idiot, no matter what stupid shit you find yourself in. Keep me updated.” Lucretia hung up, and Barry put his hand down. He breathed in deep, held it, and let it out, trying not to let his tears escape. Crying while driving was not a good idea.

“Uh, you good, bubeleh?” Taako was behind his again, but Barry didn’t startle this time. He just nodded, keeping his face turned away.

“Yep, I’m fine,” he muttered quickly. If Taako noticed his voice was more gruff, he didn’t mention it.

Kravitz got out of the Qwik Stop, travel cup of mediocre coffee in hand. "Are you guys ready to go?"

Barry nodded, and they got in the car. Without saying anything, Taako turned the radio up a little more.

They drove without speaking for the rest of the night.

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Seal Coat](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14364753) by [TaraHarkon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraHarkon/pseuds/TaraHarkon)




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